High School

It was a well-earned victory, but it may come with a terrible loss. Just 11 minutes into the game, Woodland's Steph Dumond collided with Torrington defender Tori Flowers. Dumond went down and did not get up. She left the field, and it was later learned that Dumond broke both bones in her left forearm.

The Woodland girls probably didn't needed additional inspiration, but after the loss of one of the Naugatuck Valley League's most potent strikers, the Hawks put on a dominating display of soccer and came away with a 2-0 victory over the Raiders on Wednesday night.

Woodland (3-0) dominated the Raiders (2-1) in every phase of the game. Through the midfield, the Hawks closed down most every Torrington escape route. The Hawks held an 18-6 shot advantage.

But the two Woodland goals did not come until late. The game was scoreless for more than 60 minutes, and one got the impression that it will not be easy for any team to get a ball into the Torrington goal. The two Woodland goals, from Audra Blewitt and Keri DeBiase, were the first two allowed this season by the Raiders.

"We needed to be strong tonight," was how Torrington defender Toni Wilson put it. "We knew coming out that Woodland was the team to beat. Woodland is No. 1. We came out with heart. We came to play. We are very strong defensively because we have to be."

The Hawks pinched up and put at-

See HAWKS, Page 5C

tacking pressure on Torrington for most of the first half, with Raiders keeper Taylor Howe making one dazzling save on a blast from DeBiase.

Torrington had its thrusts, a few good runs late in the first half and, with the game still scoreless, Paige Middleton outmuscled the the Hawks' defense two minutes into the second half. Her blast beat Woodland keeper Alma Rizvani and banged off the crossbar.

But after that, Torrington seemed to settle back to defend, and, given time, Woodland will get you.

The first goal came with 18 minutes left, and it was a beauty, as four Woodland players had a hand in setting up Blewitt.

It started along the touchline with a play from Alexa Casamiro. Nikki Tyrell then moved the ball to the foot of Savanah Aviz, and Aviz crossed to DeBiase in the middle.

"I had so much space and I saw Audra in the corner," said DeBiase, whose pass was a perfect one-touch flick. "Once she was wide open, I knew it was going in."

Blewitt cut in, improved her angle and beat Howe for the game's first goal.

"I didn't think it was going in," Blewitt said. "I thought it was going to hit the post."

Blewitt finished, but she acknowledged that every goal starts way back down at the other end of the field. "Our defense was so good today," she added, "and the midfield knows how to connect the passes and get (the ball) right where it needs to go."

Just two minutes later, DeBiase scored, getting through the Raiders defense on what may have been their only extreme breakdown of the evening.

When a star player is injured, it can affect a team in many ways. For Woodland, it seemed to rally the troops. Blewitt said the team stayed focused: "We had enough of a clear head. We knew what we had to do."

"Steph is a great player," DeBiase said, "and we missed her, obviously. But that's what is great about our team. We have a bunch of great players who can pick up the slack when one player gets hurt.

"We wanted to win it for Steph out there."

The Hawks got the victory, but now must wait to see if they lost a teammate in the process.

Post a reader comment

We encourage your feedback and dialog. Please be civil and respectful.If you're witty, to the point and quotable, your reader comments may also be included on the Around the Towns page of The Sunday Republican. Readers must be registered and logged in to post comments on the site. Registration is free. Click Here to register.
A Subscription is not required to post comments only a Registration.